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Rust Does Not Need a Garbage Collector — Here Is Why
The Intro: Garbage collectors slow things down. Rust never needed one.
The way you create code, run programs, and preserve memory is all altered by that one fact alone.
And you won’t think about Java or Go in the same way after seeing how Rust handles memory without a collector.
Why This Matters
When writing code that is heavily focused on performance, every millisecond matters. Although a garbage collector seems secure, safety comes at a price: erratic pauses, additional CPU strain, and memory overhead.
Rust takes a different route. It enforces ownership and lifetimes at compile time. That means memory gets cleaned up exactly when it is no longer required — no collector sweeping in after the fact.
You get speed, control, and safety in one package.
How Rust Manages Memory Without GC
Consider Rust’s memory model as an agreement between the compiler and you.
- Each value has one clear owner.
